Tag Archives: #workingmom

My name is Liz McGrory and I own Coach LizzyMc ~ Working Mom Coach. I am all about getting Working Moms to ignite their Mommy Energy. I am a Certified Professional Coach and was voted Rookie Coach of the Year in 2013 by the International Coach Federation New England Chapter. I am a blogger, speaker and author of “Igniting Mommy Energy” which came out on the first day of summer in 2014.

Prior to starting my business I worked in IT which was male dominant. When I spoke with customers they were often surprise to hear a woman’s voice. When I became a Working Mom I felt alone. There were a few Working Dads who were there for me, but it was still lonely. I overcame these challenges after being coached by a Leadership Coach. I discovered how to make brave work/life choices such as starting a new career path (aka start my own business) where I’d work with only women.

My children have seen me as a Corporate Working Mom and now as a business owner. They know that I’m working on something I deeply care about and that I’m helping people. I am tickled pink to be contributing to my family’s wealth while doing something that I love.

CAREER JOURNEY

When I first became a Working Mom, my supportive manager at the time said, “Lizzy, you just need to find balance and you’ll be all set.”. This was the first time I had heard of this ‘80’s term. Since I didn’t know what that meant I dove back into my career. When I left for my second maternity leave I thought I’d return to a promotion (which I truly wanted because I was burnt out in my current role). Well, the promotion wasn’t there. Instead I learned multiple life lessons which resulted in starting my own business. I experienced how coaching changed my world and I want to give that same opportunity to others. My services include Mommy Energy Coaching Sessions either one-on-one or group via Skype, Google+ Hangouts, or phone. In addition to coaching I’m also a professional speaker speaking at local companies about time and energy management.

FAMILY

I am happily married with three young children. My oldest son is 6 years old, my oldest girl is 4 years old and my youngest daughter is 1 ½ years old. My husband and I discovered early on that co-parenting works well for us. Most household chores are split between us, but now that the kids are older they want to earn an allowance (yes!!). We hit soccer games on the weekend and practice and dance class during the week. My son is in first grade and my oldest daughter goes to pre-school three days a week. My youngest naps in the p.m., so two days a week I can focus on marketing my business and on Friday’s I relax. Quiet time is a must on Fridays so that I can tackle the fun things on the weekend.

ORGANIZATION

I have an 8×10 planner that keeps my life and biz in check. Every Sunday night I plan out the week according to personal and professional goals I want to tackle. Goals keep pushing me forward (otherwise I’ll procrastinate and that will make me feel awful). Every morning I aim to complete 3 personal things and 3 biz things that are beyond what is already scheduled for the day. For instance, this survey was on the list today, but so wasn’t building a scarecrow/volunteer work, hitting the school fall festival, getting the kids off to soccer, which is where they are now while the baby is asleep, then dinner tonight to celebrate my husband’s new job. Yes, busy day, they aren’t all like this. Having only three things for personal & biz is manageable for me. If I don’t complete all six goals, I figure out why. Was I low on energy? Was there too many things scheduled on the calendar? Was I dealing with many emotions that day? This is a great learning opportunity.

Groceries used to be a chore for me. I’ve never been a big fan. Once I became organized about food prep food shopping wasn’t a big deal. I have an excel sheet that maps out my supermarket by aisle. I have a binder of recipes. Getting meal prep organized has made my grocery trips less stressful!! Bills are something my husband does. I have enough on my plate and don’t mind delegating.

DOWN TIME

All-in-all we have been homebodies and just enjoy hanging out around the house and yard. In the summer we swim in the pool, go for bike rides, play hide & seek and hang out with the neighbors. We are blessed to have many young families around us. We attend some meet-ups that are hosted by a Mom’s Group I belong to. My husband and I are very close to our parents so we visit them often or vice versa. We try to do date night and the kids will sleepover at the grandparents. Before our 3rd child this happened once per month, but now it’s probably once every three months (three kids overnight is a bit much). In the summer, we take a vacation down on Cape Cod. We’ve discovered that vacation is about creating fun memories not for relaxation. We will have plenty of time to relax later on in life!

COMMUNICATION

I don’t know how I functioned without a smartphone. I love my iPhone. I used to use Google Calendar for personal use, but now I’m back to paper, but I do use it for business meetings. We talk. A lot. I guess I could say “open communication” but that sounds too formal. We just talk a lot. Mostly about love. If someone isn’t treating someone right, it all comes down to love. “Is that something you do if you love your sister?” “Is that showing your brother how much you love him?” “You are lucky to have a baby sister who you can teach everything you know about love”. It all just comes down to love. It’s as simple as that.

ME

It’s sad that after becoming a Working Mom I “lost myself”. One time my coach asked me what do I like to do. I replied, “I like to cook, have a clean house, and take care of my children”. He said, “Liz, those are things you HAVE to do, not things that you LIKE to do.” Sadly, I didn’t have an answer for him. So my “homework” that week was to rediscover what I liked to do. So I LOVE to read, run, crochet, and garden, but not in that order.

INSPIRATION

Twitter. I enjoy searching for the hashtag #workingmom and reading what other working moms are saying. There are so many of us out there crushing it and/or losing it. I enjoy being there for them, talking to them, seeing if I can help in 140 characters or less. It’s fun and it’s quick! Another thing I have found inspirational and motivational is working out with friends. I don’t live close to my friend I’m running the half marathon with. So we created a private Facebook group to check in and we also follow each other on the app Map My Run. It’s been great using her as my inspiration & motivation.

TO BALANCE OR NOT TO BALANCE

Don’t strive for balance; it’s a term that was created back in 1986. It’s time for us to move on from this phrase. I like to focus on each decision I make about work and life. This way I can celebrate mini-triumphs often. If I have a setback, it’ll only be a minor one because I know that I made the choice based on what I thought was right in that moment. Every day is something different, which is the complete opposite of how my working life used to be. I love it but keeping my priorities straight can be challenging. To keep myself on track I write down my goals for the week, then break them down into daily goals, like I said before. Distractions can sneak up on me quickly so I keep a copy of my weekly goals up on the fridge. I have one of those clip magnets so I can easily take my list down and travel with it. Across from the fridge we have the family white board calendar so in the mornings I can see what’s planned for the day and then choose what goals will be my priority. There are days when this ritual doesn’t happen (aka I fall off the band wagon), but it is what it is! If I don’t have the Mommy Energy to get things done then my body is telling me that my health, either mental or physical, should be my priority that day.

STRATEGY

I don’t want to do it all all by myself. I’ve learned that trying to live life that way is just no fun, especially when we kept adding more children to our family. Having a strong and loving support system has helped me create all that I’ve wanted to do for my family, business, and personal life. I follow the 5W’s when I ask for help. I know who I can count on, they know when & where I’ll need help and with what, but the most important is the why. Declaring the why made me feel vulnerable at first, but then I learned that it DOES take a village to raise a family. When my support system knows ‘why’ I need help they know what’s expected of them. This makes them feel competent that they can truly help me.